TURN OF THE TURTLE
In what is one of the most breathtaking sights of nature, millions of Olive Ridley baby
turtles broke out off their eggshells under the sand at one of their mass nesting ground
in coastal Orissa, India. After emerging from the nests in the Rushikulya river mouth, in
the southern district of Ganjam, some 175 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar, the
hatchlings start their journey towards the Bay of Bengal.
Orissa is home to three mass nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles,
namely Nasi Islands of Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapada district, Devi river mouth in
Puri district and the Rushikulya river mouth.
Gahirmatha is considered one of the world’s largest nesting sites with around 70 to 80
million turtles laying eggs on the beach every year. However, no mass nesting has been
reported from Gahirmatha and Devi river mouth so far.
About 1.7million turtles come to 4.2 kilometer stretch of Rushikulya beach for mass
nesting in March and then return to the sea. “The eggs incubate in the warm sand and
the female turtles never visit the nest again to take care of the eggs or the hatchlings”. A
female turtle lays at least 120 to 150 eggs in one go.
Hatchlings emerge from the eggs after about 45 to 60 days. It is one of the nature’s rare
phenomenon that babies grow without their mother. It is believed that the Olive Ridley
turtles return to the same beach to nest where they were themselves hatched.
At least 52 villagers and forest guards protect the baby turtles. In the recent times, sea
erosion has led to many turtle’s nest being damaged. Predators like dogs, jackals and
birds take their toll on the nesting of turtles. Mechanized trawlers along the coast also
play a role in the massacre of thousands of these omnivorous sea turtles.
Like tigers and elephants, the Olive Ridley turtle is protected under schedule 1 of the
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They should be protected at any cost. Operation
Kachhapa with its chairman Biswajit Mohanty has been coordinating the operation for
the conservation of these turtles.
–DR. NAVRAJ SINGH SANDHU, www.navraj@gmail.com